They are back in action once again this afternoon at the Great Race Place after kicking off the racing week with an 8-race card yesterday. The 9-race slate is headlined by a pair of graded stakes, as well as a pair of maiden special weights for 3YOs over the second half of the day. Here are a few horses I like most later today at Santa Anita Park.

Race 3:

There is not a lot of speed at all signed on in this $25k non-winners of two life time at one-mile over the grass, which should benefit #1 Exington. The daughter of Hard Spun went too fast early going a 1 1/8-miles on December 29 and tired on her own to finish fourth against a few of her rivals today. The difference hopefully is the turnback to eight furlongs. Edwin Maldonado has been on board the last three starts and returns to ride this afternoon. If he can ration out Exington’s speed a little more on the backstretch, she should have enough to get to the wire first.

Play: #1 Exington (5-1 ML)

Race 4: San Pasqual (G2)

The first of two graded stakes races on the agenda is this 9-furlong test for 4YOs and up over the main track where I am willing to take a swing against both morning line favorites. 9-5-top choice #5 Pony Express has run some big races, but his barn is cold and he clearly has issues of some sort preventing him to put back-to-back races together. 2-1-second choice #3 Getaway Car competed in some big races early in his career, but has never wowed me making his likely price impossible to swallow. #4 Bartholdy will have to work out a trip in order to get the added distance, but comes into the race in the best form of his career for trainer Steve Knapp. He tried to the wire against two serious Baffert runners in the Laffit Pincay Jr. (G2) to close his 4YO campaign and should be set for another big run in his second stakes try.

Play: #4 Bartholdy (4-1 ML)

Race 8

This first-level allowance at the tricky 6.5-furlong distance marks the 2026 debut of #5 Cornucopian. The $1.1M Keeneland September 2023 purchase wowed everyone with his dominant win on debut at Oaklawn Park, but did not get back to that effort in his two tries versus winners last spring. He was set to return in the Malibu (G1), but was forced to scratch shortly prior to post time in late December. Trainer Bob Baffert takes the blinkers off for the first time, which suggests his colt is relaxing better in the mornings, but he is still hard to trust at his likely price, so I will try to get him late with #2 Red Flag. The 8YO gelding has won 8 career races, including last out in his first start off the claim for Jeff Mullins when he was bet down to 2-1-favoritism and was absolutely loaded late when taking advantage of a favorable setup to score by two. He continues to try hard far more often than not and should get another contentious pace to run at in the first half of the late Double.

Play: #2 Red Flag (6-1 ML)